Orange solicits old shop ideas

Local citizens will soon get the opportunity to voice their opinions about the future use of the old public works lots in the Town of Orange.
According to Orange Director of Community Development Joshua Bateman, three meetings will be held to solicit citizen input to assist the town council in determining the best future use of the town-owned lots located between Montevista Avenue and Peliso Avenue, which are the former public works department shops and office.
“It is wide open as to how the property could be used,“ Bateman said. “It could be housing, a skate park, a pool, etc.“
The meetings, which are unusual in planning according to Bateman, are a way to give citizens, especially those that own property within 1,000 feet of the property in question, an option to weigh in with opinions, giving council members some ideas for what to do with the property.
“[Council] doesn’t have a preferred alternative for the property, they [just] don’t want it to be used in a way that would disrupt neighborhood harmony.“
Bateman said the first of the meetings will be a brainstorming session.
“At the first meeting, we’ll present the background information on the property such as what it used to be, what utilities are there,“ he said.
Following the presentation of the background information, citizens will be able to give their ideas on how the property should be used.
Those ideas will be voted on at the second meeting with citizens voting for the top five they like best.
“This will give them the [opportunity] to eliminate anything objectionable,“ Bateman said.
Once the votes are tallied, the top results will be presented to the Orange Town Council for further review.
Bateman expects the entire process to take two to three months for completion.
Letters have been mailed to those owning property within 1,000 feet of the former public works department shops and office to alert them to the first meeting date.
The first meeting will be held Tuesday, June 30 at 7 p.m. in the community room located in the Public Works Office Building at 235 Warren St.
For more information, or questions, contact the Town of Orange Department of Community Development at 672-6917.